Prologue, Just a Part of the Story Too
by SetsunaNoroi
Summary: ."If I could take back what I-" "Don't bother. I am who I am. Don't take so much credit for a life that isn't yours." Life, like water, can be swayed by others. Amazing how a stream can affect a river. Sanzo and Kitai both learn that. OCs but no romance.
1. A Place to Stay?

Hiya. I've had an itch to write this for a while, and finally decided to heck with it and write it out. As stated in the dicription, this IS NOT A ROMANCE! I am not hooking Sanzo up with anyone. I firmly believe a female can mean something to one of these characters and not fall head over heals with them. Also, I'm sorta partail to Goku/Sanzo, but there won't be any of that in here either. This story takes place during the trip to India, though it honestly doesn't matter when or where, so feel free to enjoy.

Also, I don't own this Saiyuki, or the legend 'Journey to the west'. Please don't sue me, for I have little to give. And there may be a few spelling mistakes. I tried to clean it up as best I could on my own, but for some reason, I can't seem to find a beta to stick with me. Perhaps it's all my various interests... Anyway, hopefully they're all gone, but if you see a small one like 'they' instead of 'the' or soemthing else the spell checker wouldn't catch, then feel free to point it out and I will fix it. If it doesn't bother you, or you can't be bother, than that's fine too.

Well, please enjoy.

**_Prologue... Just a Part of the Story Too_**

_I don't remember anything but his eyes. The deepest purple, I had never seen such a spectacular shade before. They held me in and even as a child, I knew he was special. I wanted nothing more than to be close to him, to be seen by those eyes and show him that I could make him happy._

Chapter 1: A Place to Stay?

The rain was beating down unmercifully against the pane glass window. Red eyes watched sadly, wondering just when it was going to stop. It didn't seem right that rain would fall in a place like this; the bringer of life had little use here and it seemed a little too unnatural, even forced in a way. Or perhaps that was just her attempt at her putting logic to a place where none seemed to exist.

"Hmm," she mumbled softly. "I don't think it's going to ease by tomorrow morning. I hope this doesn't put us too far behind in the preparations."

"It will be fine. You work too hard, and worry too much. In fact, as I've said before, you needn't do it at all if you do not wish to."

She didn't look at the man she was talking to, instead keeping her back to the room they were staying in and facing the window. The water streaking down the glass looked like miniature waterfalls to her and she almost reached out to touch it.

"I understand you feel I have no obligation," she said. "But I think I've been here long enough. I mean, I gave up leaving a long time ago. This is my life now. I don't want to be treated like a guest."

"I am not surprised, but I must wonder if your choice was made by resignation or actually feeling that you belong."

"Both actually," she answered after a moment.

"At least you speak honestly. It is a rare trait in the world today. Though I suppose you don't need to really worry about tomorrow anyway. You should be well rested in order to meet our guests."

"Guests?" she repeated in question. She turned around to look at the man who was sitting on top of a cushion on the floor and gazing out the window as well, wrinkles crinkled in a small knowing smile. "Who do you mean?"

"A friend, or at least that's what I would like. But who knows if he'll accept it."

"And he'll be here tomorrow? How do you know?"

"I can sense him, and what he carries. I think he may be able to help answer some questions. But you should be getting some sleep. You won't be up for tomorrow if you're too tired from staying up and watching the rain. I can guarantee, it won't be the last time that it falls from the heavens."

"Wait, is he like you? I thought I'd met everyone here already."

"There are always more to meet in one's life, but yes, he is like me… in some aspects."

"Huh?"

"Get some rest. You'll need it for tomorrow, I'm sure."

Femanine hands tugged at red hair, wondering just what her 'mentor' was talking about. Of course her friend was more of a guide than anything else, but she had to admit, this person had helped her so much since she'd arrived.

"Yes, I'll take your advice. Some sleep sounds good."  
"Very well. You may sleep all you wish, I shall watch over things for you. May your dreams be sweet, Kitai."

She hesitated before replying, "Yes. Good night Master Sanzo."

--------

Gojyo wasn't much of a patient guy. He liked his relationships to be short cause he didn't like dealing with the repercussions of woman who thought that they'd bagged a boyfriend. He didn't like dealing with the lousy monkey or the droopy-eyed priest cause they were so quick to grate on his nerves. And he really, really, really didn't like long car rides where there was no beer left; he was smoking his last cigarette, and they were driving through a mountain pass that they should have been through a few hours ago. Unfortunately the group had been held up last night by heavy rain that hadn't stopped until mid-afternoon and the lousy map had been blown away by the strong winds, despite Goku and he's attempts to catch it. Now it was nearing dusk and it was looking more and more like they were going to have to camp out again in the stupid mountains.

Of course, while Gojyo would usually be ranting and raving and picking on Goku by now, he wasn't much in the mood. Besides, it's not like it'd help anything. That was until he noticed that Goku had fallen asleep, and was chewing on his pants leg.

That kind of blew it.

"Get the hell of me you little homo monkey!" he screamed so loud that everyone had jumped, even Sanzo, who was exceedingly pissed because he'd just fallen asleep. The kappa slugged the boy on the head to dislodge him and earned him a glare from both him and the monk.

"Ow, what was that for? I was dreaming of having the juiciest chicken thigh in the world, and you had you wake me up," Goku whined.

"That was my leg you little fag," Gojyo cried out.

"You mean I bit you? EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWW! I'm gagging! I'm gagging!"

Goku hung his head over the side of Hakaru and pretended that he was throwing up. The kappa, eyebrow twitching, almost lunged for him before he was suddenly grabbed by Sanzo from over his seat.

"Fucking moron! I was sleeping! And if it'll keep Goku from complaining about his stomach, then he can eat you for all I care!"

"Um guys," Hakkai said, trying to get their attention.

"Screw you Cleric! I don't need your little gay monkey trying to get some action off of me in his sleep! And who said you get to sleep while I suffer threw this stupid car ride? We were suppose to be out and to the next town by now. But we're hopelessly lost with no cigarettes, no beer, no food, and more importantly… no freaking women!" Gojyo shot back at them, ignoring his friend trying to speak over them.

"Like you do anything during the rides!" Goku suddenly interjected loudly. "Hakkai's the one that's always driving. And who do you think you're calling a fag, ya pervert. Like I'd touch a disease ridden roach like you!"

"You know guys-" Hakkai tried again.

"Disease ridden?!"

"Yeah. Sanzo said you sleep around so much you probably caught something by now!"

"YOU SAID WHAT?!" Gojyo screamed at Sanzo.

"Oh shut up!" Sanzo yelled back. "Like you have any taste for women except those who crawl all over any man they can get their hands on."

"I'm stopping now," Hakkai said, not really caring if they heard him or not. "Might want to brace yourself."

His foot hit the brake so fast that all three of his friends, that he noticed had been standing only moments ago, were flumped around on the floor, looking very disgruntled and generally pissed off in his direction.

"Well, I did try to warn you," he said with a small smile.  
"What was that for?" grumbled Gojyo.

"Well, I just thought you guys should know that we reached a town."

All of them looked to where Hakkai was pointing to see that they were just outside the entrance of a large gate. The wall looked to be layered by many large stones, none of them the same size or shape of any of the others, and it seemed to stand at somewhere from twenty to thirty feet tall. The door was a gigantic drawbridge that was laying open over a chasm that even Goku would probably have a hard time jumping over.

"Town? Looks more like a city," Gojyo commented. He was not the only one who saw the large buildings through the gate's opening.

"Was it on the map?" Sanzo asked.

Hakkai shook his head.

"No, but it's not like we have that to go by anymore. Besides, it didn't cover the whole range, mostly just the path we needed to get through to the other side. We could have easily wandered off in the wrong direction."

"Great," Sanzo grumbled as he lit a cigarette. "Could this get any worse?"

"I don't know why your complaining Sanzo," Goku chimed in. "This is great! Think of all the food they'll have."

"And pretty women to serve it to us," Gojyo agreed.

Sanzo looked up at the walls and glared at it. The place didn't seem right to him, like an air was hanging over it, but it wasn't an evil presence, more like one of something… unsettling.

"Sanzo, is something wrong?" Hakkai asked.

The priest looked at the man turned demon and wondered if he could feel it too. If he could, he certainly wasn't piping up, so it probably didn't bother him. He had the feeling he should be cautious, but this place didn't reek of evil, no matter how strange it seemed.

"Tch, fine. Lets go."

In a small flash Hakaru turned into his usual form of a small dragon and landed on his master's shoulder and they all set of onto the bridge and into town.

Exploring did little to dispel their curiosity. After nearly half on hour of looking through the narrows streets, they hadn't found much. The buildings were of various shapes and sizes; some only looking like small shacks while others seemed like large towers with pipes and ladders covering them. They were all quiet alarming looking really. Every single house seemed disjointed and wrong looking, not a single one stood up straight, instead looking crooked or having sharp edges of wall or roof sticking out somewhere. They were also of various shades of black and gray, with chipped paint on walls that showed the brick underneath, cracked windows, and occasionally a rickety sign over a doorway or porch, swaying precociously in the wind. The only thing about the place that seemed even slightly cheerful was the dozens of red paper lanterns with black trimming that hung from nearly every building and crisscrossed over streets from roof to roof on strings.

"I have a feeling this place was ransacked a long time ago. And it didn't seem to be too cheerful of a place to begin with," Hakkai said. "I wonder if anyone still lives here?"

True to his words and the look of the place, there didn't seem to be anyone alive. It had the feel of being completely deserted, and no lights were on in any of the windows or the lanterns.

"You think it was demons?" Gojyo asked.

"I wouldn't doubt it," Sanzo said.

"But somebody has got to be here, I smell some food," Goku said as he sniffed the air and pointed down the street. "It's coming from that direction."

"Sure you not just imagining things from hunger?" Gojyo asked. "'M not sure your small brain could tell the difference between reality and hallucinations anyway."

"What'd you say?" Goku snapped back.

"Quiet," Hakkai suddenly hissed as he and Sanzo looked around.

"Hmm, what is it Hakkai?" Gojyo asked.

"Do you suddenly get the feeling someone's watching us?"

"Yeah, I feel it too," Sanzo replied as he pulled his Banishing Gun out and peered between the buildings. "Goku was right… we're not alone."

"Told you," Goku remarked as he balled up his fists, wondering if a fight would be coming soon. This seemed like some lame ass trap that the demons would pull to try and kill them.

"Over there!" Sanzo barked as he suddenly pointed his pistol down a narrow street corner with several overturned garbage cans. "Come on out and show yourselves you little shit!"

"Pointing guns isn't nice, mister!" came a voice from the alley. "You're being pretty rude for a Sanzo Priest."

"Cry me a freaking river! You think I'm going to put my gun down when you won't even come out you're obviously-"

"Obviously what?"

The person stepped out and they were surprised to see no more than a little boy, maybe eight or nine, dressed in tan cargo pants and a black t-shirt. His brown hair was scruffy and dirty looking, with a small bit of hair in the back that barely qualified as a ponytail. He was fairly normal looking, aside from the furry tuft ears on the top of his head and a tail the same color as his hair sprouting from his person. He glared at them, as if daring them to make a comment about his strange appearance.

"You mean it's just a kid?" Gojyo asked. "Geez, what the hell?"

Hakkai seemed to have calmed down too.

"And here I was worried. Well, he looks kind of weird, but I don't think our group has any right to point fingers."

"Get him Bro!" the boy suddenly yelled and out of another corner a large gray wolf had suddenly appeared. It leaped onto Goku, knocking him down.

"Hey!" Goku exclaimed thinking the creature was going to suddenly start snapping at him but instead he sniffed at him a few seconds before giving an approving yelp and began licking his face. "Ew, get it off me! Dog slobber!"

The boy laughed a little before walked up to Sanzo, a big grin showing sharp teeth and stretching his arms over his head.

"Heh heh, bet I scared you, huh mister," he said with a snicker. "Sorry, my brother and I were curious, so we decided to check you out."

"Brother?" Hakkai asked. Looking at the large gray wolf that was still 'playing' with Goku. ("A little help here please!") "He's your brother?"

"Yeah of course he is. My name's Urufu, but everyone just calls me Uru for short, and that's my brother Aiken. We're twins."

Hakkai gave him an, 'Okay, I'll say I believe but you should know I really don't 'cause you're a kid and I'm a sensible adult,' look. Uru gave a small sigh.

"I know we don' exactly look alike, but it is true. Although Aiken is a little more rambunctious. Speaking of which, I think you can get off him now, Aiken. Don't think he wants to get eaten."

The wolf whined like a puppy but slowly dismounted Goku, who looked very relieved.

Uru looked up at Sanzo who was glaring down at him and suddenly his smile wilted. "Uh, mister? You weren't really scared were you? I mean, I wasn't actually gonna hurt you."

"You think I looked scared?" Sanzo growled as he put his gun away.

"I don't know. A little," Uru replied with a shrugged then shook his finger at him a little. "But you really shouldn't point guns you know. It is pretty rude. Pretty soon no one will like you."

Having a kid who looked like he could barely even read yet scolding him made his eye twitch and he glared at the rest of his party to keep them from saying anything. They wanted to laugh, he could just tell.

"Um excuse me," Hakkai said as he bent down to look the strange boy in the eye. "What happened to this place? Where is everyone?"

"Huh?" the boy asked. "Oh. This place always looked like this. Its how Kumo liked it."

"Kumo?"

The boy quickly shook his head.

"Doesn't matter much now. He was the founder of this city, I guess you could call him. But he's been gone for a while now. Anyway, everyone is up in the temple right now. Preparations for the festival party are starting."

"Party?" Goku asked. "Will there be food?"

"Of course. But I don't think that-"

"Urufu!"

Everyone whirled around to see a young woman in her early twenties standing nearby. She was panting slightly, as if she just run over. She had red eyes and hair, cropped short at the back, but the front hung to her chin, framing her face. She was dressed simply enough in a short brown skirt and a white button up shirt untucked and the sleeves rolled up a little, worn brown heeled boots and an unbuttoned black vest.

"Huh?" he asked. "Kitai, what's up?"

She didn't heed his words, instead snatched his wrist and started to yank at his hand.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?" he yelled at her.

"What do you think you and Aiken are doing?" she asked him, though despite her look of annoyance she sounded worried. "Talking to strangers like it's no big deal. Why didn't you warn them to get out?"

"I was about to," Uru whined as he tugged at his wrist. "Ask Aiken. Wasn't I gonna tell 'em?"

Aiken gave a deep bark.

"See."

"Hey," Sanzo interjected, catching her attention. Her eyes widened as she looked up at the blond man. "What's going on here?"

"A scripture, and holy robes… a Sanzo Priest," she muttered in disbelief. "Is this what… I see. You two are alike."

"Huh?" Gojyo asked as Sanzo wondered what she was babbling about. That color, it was the same as his. "A half demon?"

Her surprise at Gojyo seemed to rival his own before she shook her head.

"It doesn't matter," she said quietly to herself before turning her attention back to the others. "Listen to me, all of you. You can't stay here, it's dangerous. Please you need to follow me to the gate before it's too late."

"Wait, calm down. What's the matter?" Hakkai asked. "Did demon attack the humans here?"

The woman narrowed her eyes at him.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Aside from you people, we don't have many humans here. And I'll have you know we haven't attacked anyone. But anyway, you need to leave. Come on Aiken, Urufu."

"Alright," Uru replied sulkily.

She walked off, turning back around after a few steps to see them looking at her surprised.

"What are you looking at?" she asked. "Come on. Hurry."

They followed her, though they were all thinking the same thing. Just what could she have meant by saying that humans and demons lived together? Hadn't the Minus Wave affected this place as well?

Eventually they reached the gate that they had originally come through. The woman breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank the Merciful Goddess it's open. I was scared you'd all get stuck," she said softly before addressing them. "I'm sorry, I don't know why you've come here, but you need to go. This place isn't meant for people like you, so you need to cross this bridge and go far away. Just try and forget you were ever here."

"Wait, what is here exactly? Just what the hell is going on?" Gojyo asked.

"There really isn't time to explain," she replied before her eyes wandered to the city. She gasped as she saw that the lamps were beginning to light up on there own accord and windows were beginning to glow as lamps were turned on inside the buildings. She looked up and saw the sun setting behind some clouds, making the area suddenly darker.

"Get out!" she suddenly yelled as she rushed behind the group and tried to push them to the bridge. "Trust me, just go and don't look back!"

Whether the four would have left or not suddenly became irrelevant as a strong wind suddenly pushed against them. The drawbridge creaked violently before suddenly it swung up and slammed against the wall.

"What was that?" Gojyo asked when the girl removed her hands from his back and walked past them and pushed a little against the wood, as if to check if it was real or not. She sighed when her hand rested on a small steel bolt in the door.

"You should have just left," she told them, still facing the gate. "This is all your fault for not listening to me when I told you to leave."

"Hey, just what the hell are you going on about?" Sanzo asked. "This whole 'I can't explain' thing is beginning to piss me off."

She shook her head and took a few steps backwards away from the gate.

"You want to see an explanation, fine. It's not like it matters now anyway."

She clapped her hands together twice and then slapped them to the ground. They expected something, but all she did after that was dig her fingers into the dirt.

"Just remember that you could have left without knowing anything. But you insisted on staying where you weren't welcome."

She stood, dirt slowly slipping between her hands. She held them together out in front of her and drew in a deep breath before blowing the dirt from her hands and out towards the door. As it hit, the door seemed to fade away, like it had suddenly become see-through. All four men's eyes widened in shock as they saw the chasm they had crossed before was now filled completely with water, and running at high speed too.

"That river is impossible to cross, and the bridge won't let you go over it now either. It's still there, despite my magic making it invisible for a moment, and it won't open. If you had left before dark, then you would have been okay, but now you're stuck here… just like I am."

"What the hell?" Goku asked. "What do you mean stuck?"

"Guess you say that this place is a little too welcoming," Uru explained. "Kitai came here too a while back, and she hasn't been able to leave since. There's some kinda ward on it that keeps people from leaving if they stay 'till nightfall. Though the gate opens every morning to try and lure more people in, no one can cross over it to get out for some reason."

"Oh fuck that," Goku argued. "Can't you do something about it Sanzo?"

"Like what?" Sanzo asked. "Has anyone ever tried to break it down?"

"Hey good idea!" Goku said before summoning his staff. "Leave it to me."

"Wait!" Uru and Kitai cried but it was too late. The monkey demon swung at the now visible gate with Nyoi-bo but the anticipated smash of wood upon impact never happened. Instead what could only be described as a liquid shadow appeared where the staff hit. His staff slipped right in, much like it was water. Before Goku could take this in though the shadow started to shift and pull off the wall. Several skeletal hands suddenly emerged from the shadow and gripped at him and his weapon and began to tug him towards the gate.

"Goku!" Sanzo exclaimed as Hakkai and Gojyo grabbed a hold of Goku and yanked him back. When the hands lost their grip, they simply slid back into where they came from and disappeared.

"What the hell was that shit?" Goku yelled at Kitai.

"Defending itself from an attack of course," she answered him. "Everything here is much more than it seems. This place is alive, and it doesn't like to be threatened. It's like I've been saying, getting to this place is like a one-way ticket. I've been told there is a way to get out, though I never found it." She sighed and turned to them, a grim smile on her face. "Well, I guess formalities aren't completely out the window yet. My name is Kitai. I'm sort of an attendant to the man who watches over these lands. He helped me when I first arrived here, I'm sure he'll want to see you… in fact, I think you were expected."

"Expected?" Hakkai asked.

"He'll be able to explain much better than I. I don't even think I understand his motives myself. I'll take you to him if you like. Aside from trying the door again, is there really much you can do?"

"Fine, not like we have much choice," Sanzo replied.

Aiken suddenly barked.

"Oh right, we never got your names," Uru said. "Thanks for reminding me Aiken."

"Did he really…?" Gojyo asked.

"Trust me, in this place, that's the least strange thing you'll see here," Kitai replied.

"Well, I'm Son Goku," the monkey said with a big smile. Apparently he was already over the gate trying to kill him. "Nice to meet'cha."

"Cho Hakkai," Hakkai said with a small bow to the woman, boy, and wolf.

"And I'm the incredibly hot and passionate Sha Gojyo," the kappa purred as he slid an overly friendly arm around a surprised Kitai's waist. "I don't suppose since you seem to know this place better than we do, you could show me around a little."

Gojyo jumped as a bullet hole suddenly appeared mere centimeters from his feet.

"Genjyo Sanzo," the priest bit out. "Can we get going now?"

"Oh, of course," she said uncertainly.

"Come on," Uru said as he took Hakkai's hands in his own. "I'll show you the way to the temple. Come on, come on!"

Hakkai laughed at the boyish behavior and began to follow with the rest of the group. They walked through the city, quickly realizing it was a bit of a maze if one didn't pay attention. They had just sort of wandered in at first but now that they had a specific destination they were going to, there were many twists and turns. It being dark didn't help, even with the lamps, it was still hard to make out details of anything.

"So," Gojyo asked as he slid behind with Kitai. She was in the back of the group while the others followed Uru and Aiken, "that hair color. Am I right in assuming that you had mixed heritage?"

She nodded her head.

"I did too," he told her. "But I'm guessing you already knew that."

"I had figured it a high possibility," she told him before pausing then venturing forward. "I apologize for acting so impatient with you people. I was trying to avoid this whole ordeal."

"Nah," he said airily. "Look, our old monk there isn't really the type to be held back by anything. Bet you he'll blast his way through that wall all on his own by tomorrow."

"You have great faith in your friend," she commented.

"I really don't have many men friends actually," he replied as his fingers stroked her arm suggestively. "Actually, I prefer the company of the more feminine kind."

She gave him a strange look, but it wasn't a confused one. She looked like she was considering something. Then she smiled at him.

"Sorry, but I don't have much of an interest," she replied.

"Taken?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"It's not that, there just isn't any point to that kind of thing here."

He gave a confused look, but she paid it no mind.

---------

The temple was by far the largest building in the city. So large that they seen it at least three or four blocks away at five stories tall. As a stark contrast to the others, it was a pure white with dazzling golden roofs on each level that seemed to glow even in the night. A wall, much like the one around the city stood, though there was no gate at this one. Instead simply a large opening for entryway.

The Sanzo party saw no one in the compound, but they could hear voices calling and laughing from inside the wall. Apparently the festival that was soon to happen was harboring much fun around it.

"This way," Kitai said as she walked toward large red doors. She gripped the handle and opened the door, stepping inside and indicating the others to follow. They stepped into a large room with lush white walls and polished wooden floors with several alcoves with various statues of Buddha in them. Candles were lit everywhere and mats made for prayer were placed before each statue. And at the end of the room a doorway showed a staircase leading up to an upper floor.

The room would have been impressive, even if empty. However the 'people' in it seemed to have even more extraordinary, if strange appearances, though they way they all stared at the Sanzo party would have made it seem the monk and his cohorts were the strange ones. One man who had been polishing a statue was covered in several ugly looking feathers and a sharp yellow beak where his mouth should have been, a young teenage girl with green hair and pupil-less eyes of the same color and light brown skin had small leave sprouting from her arms. She had not even bothered to pick up the basket of fruit she had dropped. Another didn't even look human, instead seemed to be a fifteen or so foot long cobra with arms that fingers ended in black claws and only about a third of it's body was upright off the floor, the rest slithering behind him. The last one looked like a normal middle-aged human woman dressed in a burgundy silk kimono with her brown hair tied into a bun with chopsticks set in them, but the third eye in the middle of her pale forehead looked out of place.

"Kitai," the large snake hissed as he slithered over to the group. His voice was cold, and his natural narrowed green eyes gave him a sinister look. "Who are thessssse people?"

"Ah Sune- Ku. These are travelers that got trapped here," she replied. Despite the fact that the thing towered over her by a few feet she was calm, smiling politely even. "I decided it would be best to take them here."

"I sssssee. Mossssst unfortunate, yesssss." It was hard to tell, but it seemed to be giving them a pitying look.

'Wow,' Goku thought. 'Am I the only one who notices how weird all these people look? I mean, are these guys demons or what?'

"In a manner of sorts," the woman with the third eye replied.

"Huh?" Goku asked as the other three looked confused. "How did you do that?"

"You're thoughts were quite loud," she replied with a small chuckle. "I apologize if I startled you."

"Ahem," Kitai coughed lightly, "I'm looking for Master Sanzo. Do you know where he is?"

This caught Sanzo's attention.

"What? There's another Sanzo Priest here?" he asked.

"Yes, and I'm rather please to see you made it here on time."

At the base of the stairs stood an old man. He looked like he had been average height when younger, but the way he was bent over now made him look small. Small wrinkles at the corners of his lips tightened a little into a smile, and from under long bush eyebrows that were the color of snow his gray eyes twinkled in merriment. He was dressed in the white robes and gold breastplate of the Sanzo priesthood and the red chakra was clearly visible on his bald head, but Sanzo noticed quickly that no Scripture adjourned his shoulders.

'What's going on here?' he thought 'Who is this old geezer?'

"Its always a pleasure to meet a young Priest who carries on the name of Sanzo," the old man said. His voice was wheezened slightly, but it still held of note of strength and dignity in it that was respectable. "I am called Seidaku Sanzo. Allow me to formally welcome you to the Land of the Dead."

---End of Chapter One---

Review are appreciated, but not demanded. Let me know how you feel about things so far, and I will be happy to return the favor. I am open to all opinions, even the ones who dislike the story. Just one request; if you don't like it, please say why. If all you say is "This sucked" then I have no idea on how to fix it. So please review, wether good or bad, and feed the poor little review bunnies. (Not to be confused with other bunnies related to this show.)


	2. Shouldn’t Explanations be Forthright?

As was said before, I don't own Saiyuki. Period. End of story. If you expected any different then I'm sorry to have disappointed you.

Prologue… Just a Part of the Story Too

_She came like many others. I had to wonder if she loved the one who stole her life? Both the father and the son, one or the other? Or did she hate them both? But despite it all, I wanted to be her, but maybe only because I knew I never could be._

Chapter 2: Shouldn't Explanations be Forthright?

"Land of…" Goku started.

"… the dead?" Goyjo finished. "The fuck?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sanzo grunted. The other 'demons' eyes all widened then narrowed at the younger Sanzo's lack of proper respect.

Seidaku simply chuckled, seeming not offended, but also amused by Sanzo's attitude.

"I see you're exactly how I expected you to be," he said lightly. "Refreshing, if not foreseen. But ah, we do what we can."

"What the heck is he going on about?" Gojyo whispered to Kitai.

"I'm not entirely sure," she confessed. "His methods are usually very straightforward, but he can be obscure at times."

"Kitai," the elderly monk said suddenly. "I want to thank you for bringing our guests. Please, if you could see to arranging rooms for them?"

"Yes, of course," she said, breaking away from the group and bowing deeply to him, a smile on her face. "Right away Master Sanzo. I'll take care of it immediately."

She ran off up the stairs, the group's eyes following her retreating form become enveloped in the shadows.

"Kitai said you were expecting us," Sanzo growled out. "What do you want?"

"Explanations will come shortly," the elderly gentlemen replied. "But such matters should not be discussed in such an uncomfortable manner such as standing in the main chamber. My bones ache, so if you do not mind…"

The Scripture-less Sanzo did not wait for an answer, but simply ascended the stairs for the group to follow. They did after only a moment's hesitation and a soft "See ya later then," from Uru.

The stairs all had candles on the walls, though only enough to just barely see by, leaving the area surrounding them mostly darkness. Only the creaking of the wood made any noise as they walked up to the second floor, which the group saw had many corridors and lush curtains hanging from the walls. However, the Seidaku walked past it all and up to the other set of stairs.

"It's further up," he explained without any of them asking.

"How far are we going?" Hakkai asked. "This temple seems quite large."

"It was built that way, for the one who lived in it loved his space to play," Seidaku explained.

"Play?" Goku asked. "You mean like hide and go seek or something?"

"Stupid Monkey!" Sanzo yelled at him. "Shut up and keep walking!"

Seidaku chuckled.

"The top floor," he replied to Hakkai's earlier question. "There is something there to be witnessed for any of what I'll tell you to make sense."

Sanzo snorted and began following again, past the third floor which looked much like a large set of kitchens and pantries where many foods were being prepared by even more strange people that watched the Sanzo group curiously. Goku had to be grabbed by Gojyo to keep him from running off and was drug kicking and screaming up to the forth. It looked to be only a large room filled with many shelves and crates covered with junk and dust and nothing more. Honestly, the temple seemed the most normal out of any of the town.

It was the fifth floor that didn't seem proper. Instead of a doorframe like the other floors, the stairs ended at a large hatch about their heads. A strange smell was coming from the hatch, and Goku wrinkled his nose. Seidaku, lifting a wrinkled and fragile looking palm, pressed the heavy wood up seemingly without effort and continued along.

"Oh shit, that's blood," Goku muttered. It was faint, but they could all smell it too.

"Ah, not too worry, it's only my own," Seidaku replied as he walked up the rest of the way into the room and they came after him.

"What in the world?" Hakkai asked as he saw the fifth floor. The room was indeed caked in blood, leaving an unpleasant odor and sight. It was dried and peeling from the walls and everything else in the room. A throne, along with several types of furniture like tables, chairs, shelves and even small statues were knocked over or broken. In the middle of all the chaos two figures stood, or at least what was left of them. Two corpses that looked as if they had been decaying for a few weeks, yet still stood on their legs, and their arms inside each other's chests.

"What the hell is this shit?" Goku asked. "Who are those guys?"

"One of them is me," Seidaku replied, somehow sounding too cheerful of the fact. "You'll have to forgive me though, I can't remember which one that is. It's been a long time since it all happened."

"Okay, pops, you are seriously freaking me out," Gojyo snapped. "Just what the hell is this all about?"

"Oh ho ho ho. Yes, yes. My apologies," the old man laughed. "I sometimes forget my thoughts, old age and all that. Thank goodness I can't get any worse."

He turned to them.

"You see, I came to this place long ago, to fight a demon by the name of Kumo. He was… the strangest thing I had ever come across. A child apparently born of a demon and a god, at least that's what he boasted. Seemed there was some grain of truth to it at least, since he had the oddest ability to create... or recreate really."

"Recreate?" Sanzo asked. "You mean, this… Land of the Dead?"

"I do," he answered. "And all the ones who live here. He took them all, stole away the life then breathed new life into them after changing their bodies into images that amused him. Their minds were wiped, giving them no memories of who they even were on the outside. They are not truly demons, nor are they human in any means. They are… what they are I suppose. No word was given to them by their creator, aside from toys. He was a cruel ruler of his little playground, and gave his creations little love. Everything had to abide by his rules, his curse that he placed upon them and this land."

"Curse. You mean the fact no one can leave?" Hakkai inquired. "It stayed in place after he died?"

"I sometimes have to wonder if he did really die," Seidaku replied honestly, his grin fading for a moment. "We are still all here, even myself whose corpse has been rotting for seems like forever. There is no concept of time here. Kumo wrote the rules, and the adjustment of time was one of them. He created it to last all eternity, much like the Heavens, which I'm sure was the point. This could have all happened days ago, or a millennia. No one can ever tell for sure, and even a poor ghost like me is unable to escape."

He gave a fake little weeping noise, though didn't seem all that concerned about his predicament. In fact, he was still smiling.

"Kitai said you were expecting us," Sanzo suddenly growled out. "What the hell do you want from us?"

"Escape of course," Seidaku replied. "Kitai is a wandering soul who was unfortunate enough to be trapped here, but no power is absolute. No trap is perfect. Kumo did not create her, nor was she killed by him and now is only a spirit to wander the halls. She alone could escape… though she stopped looking along ago."

"If she stopped looking then how are we supposed to affect anything? You're telling us that you did all this for that line of bullshit?"

"Well, I like her more since I don't even know you," he replied, chuckling. "And I figure you'll all want to leave just as much. Besides, I only foresaw you entering this place, and Kitai meeting you. Whether or not you got out on time, was hardly at my discretion. If you had, well so be it. As it is, she may be motivated by your little scavenger hunt."

Sanzo's fist's clenched. This was too much like being ordered around by the gods.

"You old bastard. Want to see if you can die twice?"

"Wait Sanzo," Hakkai interjected. "Look, I agree this isn't the greatest of circumstances, but we can get past it. Why don't we just relax this evening and set on getting out of here tomorrow? It's not like he's trying to hold us here."

Goku and Gojyo both watched him curiously before he growled and turned his back on the old man.

"Just where are these rooms for us?"

"The second floor. Kitai should be finished picking them out by now."

Sanzo strode past his demon companions, anger on his face. With a sigh, Hakkai trailed after him, then Gojyo and Goku. Once they were on the stairs, the hatch closed over their heads, leaving Seidaku inside.

"Fucking creepy, man," Goku muttered. "Hey Sanzo, you think we'll really be stuck here like everyone else? I mean, there's got to be a way to escape, right?"

"You think I'm going to spend all eternity with you pansies than you just need to die right now," Sanzo bit out as he descended the stairs. "It was made by a stupid demon whose only thing going for him was his ego. Just 'cause the morons here can't figure it out doesn't mean shit."

"So confident, I'm sure we'll be out and on our way in no time," Hakkai said with a smile. "But in the mean time, I see no reason not to join the festivities. Why not see what this festival thing is all about after we see our rooms?"

"Wonder if the dead can make good food?" Goku pondered aloud.

"Okay man, that is just sick," Gojyo snapped at him. "Seriously, you really need to shut the hell up ya goddamn monkey."

Goku was about to throw an insult back at him, but stopped suddenly and grinned. He'd nearly forgotten there was food on the third floor, but now that they were almost there, he could smell it again.

"Oooh, that smells delicious!" he cried out and suddenly ran down the stairs.

"Hey! Come back here!" Gojyo yelled and went after him.

"Hey," Goku said as he ran into the kitchen area up to the first person he saw. "Can I have some food? Just a bite, please?"

The man he addressed turned and looked at him. Dressed in a tunic and pants, his skin looked a like a black leather and Goku was slightly unnerved to see he had no face or mouth to answer back.

"Uh… I…" he stuttered before the man shrugged and reached out for something on the counter. He tossed an apple to him then turned back to his work.

"Kage, don't do that. You'll spoil hi… Oh! You're not Urufu."

The person talking approached and looked at the monkey demon in surprise. Or at least he could only guess it would have been surprise. The woman creaked as she moved and he saw wood instead of flesh and roughly cut joints. Her head was the strangest of all, which looked like a white mask with red cheeks and lips, along with black lines for eyelashes painted on it. She had no hair and the back of it suddenly spun around to show a common looking fool's mask, a dopey expression on the orange face. She bowed, several times then scratched the back of her neck with a nervous sort of laughter that did not move her O-shaped lips.

"So sorry. So sorry. My mistake. You'll have to forgive me, I'm just a dummy."

Several groans came from the comment.

"That joke was never funny Nijuu. Just get back to work."

"Ah! Right away, right away!" She looked back to Goku and her head spun back to its proper place. "If you like young sir, the banquet will be held shortly. I don't know who you are, but you're welcome to join us. For now, you need to stay out of the kitchens. The area is dangerous with all the cooking happening."

Goku nodded. The second he thought this place couldn't get any weirder, something else showed up. But everyone seemed so friendly…

"Goku!" Gojyo yelled as he grabbed him. "Come on, let's go! I want to get to my room pronto!"

"Ow! Hey, don't be such a dickweed!" he yelled as he was dragged down the second flight of stairs. Sanzo did nothing to help him, and Hakkai only chuckled at the money's predicament.

"I was about to come and get you," Kitai said as they reached the foot of the stair on the second floor. "Your rooms are ready. I wasn't sure if you wanted any food or not, but since the feast is in only an hour or so-"

"They're separate, right?" Sanzo snapped, cutting her off.

"Uh… yes. They're in the same hall, two on each side, across from each other. We have plenty of space here, since Master Sanzo and I are the only ones who live here. I'll take you to them. They're nearby."

She turned and led them to the far left side of the building before pushing away a lush red curtain to one of the entrances, showing them the hall. It was a straight shot from the stairs, and convenient too. There were so many halls; it would have annoyed Sanzo to be led all the way to the back and getting lost.

"And where do you sleep?" Gojyo purred.

Sanzo shoved roughly past Kitai before she could answer and went to the first room on the left hand side.

"First person to bother me is dead, you all got that?" he growled and slid the door shut with a loud snap.

"Oh dear," Hakkai said. "You'll have to forgive him. He's not in the greatest mood right now."

"It's because of what Master Sanzo did, isn't it?" she asked, looking a little depressed and sheepish at the same time. "I was suspicious at first, but I never would have thought he'd willingly let a person become trapped here."

"He said it's because you won't try to get out yourself," Goku replied between bites on his apple.

"Oh that," Kitai replied. "I guess that's true. When I first got here, I was desperate to leave, but… Well, I'm sure I don't have to explain after a while the situation just seems hopeless. I don't even know how long I've been here honestly. I think it's been a couple years, but I really don't know. This festival is actually sort of in celebration that I've decided to stay. We don't really have holidays to celebrate or anything."

"Well, I wouldn't worry about it too much," Hakkai replied with a smile. "I understand that that Sanzo of yours had your interests at heart. Besides, delays are routine for us, as much as that might seem like a bit of a paradox. We'll be fine, and then you can decide if you want to stay here or not."

Kitai smiled.

"You're all very kind," she said. "I'll come and get you when the preparations are complete. If nothing else, I hope you enjoy your rooms. They're all pretty large, and the ones on the left have windows with excellent views."

"I'm sure they're more than adequate," Hakkai said, giving a bow before going to one of the rooms on the right. "Come on Hakaru. What do you say I draw you a bath? You must be sore considering all the rocky terrain."

"I call the room on the left!" Goku cried out and nearly trampled the wooden floor into breaking as he ran to his own. They saw his eyes widening before he jumped in the room and the sudden sound of bouncing was heard.

"I hope Kumo made the furniture strong," Hakkai chuckled. "Well, I'll be turning in. See you all at dinner."

He politely closed the door of Goku's room before disappearing into his own.

"I should get going," Kitai said to Gojyo and made to leave, only to be caught around the arm gently.

"Don't go," he replied. "I'd like the company."

She blushed.

"I already told you-"

"You're not interested," he finished for her. "S'okay. I just want to talk, really. Besides, you think I'm gonna treat the girl who has a dead Sanzo on her side roughly? Come on, give me some credit."

"I suppose," she replied slowly then nodded. "All right. I guess I can."

Gojyo let her go and went to the one room left, hearing the soft clunking of her boots following him. Granted, he would have been more than happy to hear she was interested in a little fling, but he knew not to push too hard. Despite what other guys might think about the opposite sex, Gojyo himself knew that no meant no.

The room was nice he had to admit. Large enough that all of the Sanzo party could have fit in, and the bed had a sheer, white silk canopy and sheets. There was also a low table with pillows around it, a closet, short dresser, and a doorway that he could see a bathing area through. There was even a little coal furnace to keep the room warm.

"This is pretty comfy," he admitted as he sat down on the bed, kicking his boots off. "Are all the rooms like this?"

"Most of them, some of them are bare though," she answered as she settled down on one of the pillows. "It just looks big because there's a lot of space. Mine filled up pretty quickly actually."

"You think we're going to be staying a long time, don't you?" Gojyo asked casually. "No, you don't think we'll get out at all."

"No," she replied softly. "I don't. I never did after all."

"Did you ever really want to leave though?"

Confused, she looked up at him.

"What do you mean?"

Gojyo sighed and smiled softly.

"And here I thought I was good with explaining the obvious to a pretty face," he replied then moved to sit down next to her. He moved a single hand out to her face, making her nearly back away before trailing his finger though her hair. "This… it gave you a lot of problems, didn't it? But I'm guessing no one around here minds. Heck, would they even know how… taboo we supposedly are? They only know as much about the outside world that they're told from outsiders, aren't they?"

"I…" she shook her head. "I'm leaving."

"Why?" he asked as he took her hands in his.

"Stop it," she snapped and pushed him away, only there was much too much force from it to have really been from her. She gasped as he was thrown against the wall. "Gojyo! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"

"Ow," he groaned. "What…"

"I'm sorry!" she cried as she stood and hurried to his side. "I… don't have a great time controlling my abilities when I get upset. Nana always said it was my worst quality. And she had plenty of them listed for me."

"Nana?" he asked as she helped him straighten out into a sitting position.

"The woman who took me in," she replied. "I was born in this little mountain town and my parents both were gone before I could remember them. She was the midwife in town, well, more along the local witch than anything. She never told me what happened to them, said I didn't need to know, and just that I should work hard as her apprentice. Nana was pretty harsh, but as none of the villagers would even talk to me, I didn't really have much choice to stay with her. She trained me to use some magic, nothing spectacular, just little spells and so forth. She told me I had power but no talent, and eventually told me to just leave."

"What did you do after that?" he asked.

"Wandered," she replied with a shrug. "I was an adult at that point, tried to set up shop a few times, but it never worked for this reason or that. I eventually came across this mountain and saw this place. I had no idea what it even was when I came in."

"And over time, you decided to stay?" he asked, but more to move the story along than to clarify anything.

"You were right," she replied. "They accepted me right away, everyone, and Master Sanzo acted like a grandfather I never had. Why leave, when I'd just been looking for a place to belong?"

"But he wants you to go?" he inquired. "Why?"

"This is the Land of the Dead," she replied. "I'm alive, maybe the only one truly alive here. I could stay here forever, but he doesn't think it's good for me. He thinks I should go, and have a normal life, instead of the self-declared attendant to a ghost in world that is morbid and will never change."

Gojyo nodded. He certainly understood how she felt, and yet how the others would as well. It certainly wasn't really that odd of a situation, despite all the creepy undead shit involved. He guessed if he'd found this place when he was alone and younger, he would have been pretty content with it too.

"What are you doing here anyway?" she asked suddenly. "Hardly anyone comes through this mountains. It's so far away from anything. I only came across it because I was lost."

"Not much of a choice," he replied. "We got lost too. We're on our way West, because of the calamity that's been happening."

"Calamity?" she asked, a confused look in her eyes.

"Oh right," he chuckled. "You don't know. Honestly, it doesn't all make a lot of scene to me, but someone out there is trying to resurrect some demon that was sealed away a long time ago for eating humans. Whoever's trying to pull it off created something called the Minus Wave through their mixing of science and magic or some crap like that. It's making all the demons go loco and we gotta stop it."

"You weren't affected then? Because of…"

"Because I'm human too, yeah."

Kitai looked away.

"I really should go," she said softly. "I'm sorry again about earlier."

"Ah, don't worry about it," he replied with a grin. "And here I thought I knew what no meant. I pushed too hard. Not your fault."

She gave a soft smile at him before standing.

"I guess I'll see you at the banquet," she said before leaving the room.

Gojyo sighed and fished out a cigarette, placing it in his mouth and lighting it. Shit, well that could have gone better.

Oh well. At least she hadn't started crying.

---------

'Minus Wave? A calamity?' Kitai thought as she made her way back down stairs. 'Just what is happening in Shangri-La? And if I never knew anything about it… I wonder how long I've really been in here? Maybe I should have asked how long it had been going on. I wonder if Master Sanzo knew anything about it.'

She paused at the room holding the man who also called himself Sanzo. For a holy man, he certainly was different than what she was use to. Crude and rough around the edges, he was nothing like the man who had been taking care of her since she'd gotten here. He was like the opposite side to the same coin.

She wanted a reason to go in, wracking her brains for even the smallest excuse, but none came to mind. And really, even if she had one, what would she say? He'd made it more than obvious he had no wish to be bothered, and she would only be doing that if she tried to intrude on him right now.

'Curiosity killed the cat after all,' she reminded herself. 'It's just best if you get back to work. There are a lot of things that still need to be checked on, and I have no idea where Master Sanzo wandered off too. I wonder if he's still upstairs on the fifth floor?'

She sighed and shook her head. Master Sanzo would come when he was needed. No need to try and find him. No, she could just go and check how things were going in the kitchens she supposed.

---End of Chapter Two---

Okay, second chapter done. Again, reviews are appreciated, and the favor will be returned. Like bore, all criticism is welcome as well.

One thing I would like some feedback on is my characterization on everyone, especially Sanzo. I want to know I'm doing them justice. Suggestions are more then welcome if you saw something you didn't agree with.


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